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Revolutionizing AI with Collaborative LLM Engineering and Contextual Web Insights

March 11, 2024

👋

Welcome to another edition of , where we showcase the most exciting early-stage startups, job openings, and valuable resources, all in a single newsletter.

Before we begin... a big thank you to this week's sponsor.

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Startup Spotlight

What? - Langfuse is an open source LLM engineering platform to help teams collaboratively debug, analyze and iterate on their LLM Applications.

Why? - In recent years, I've realized the potential of software tools that enhance monitoring capabilities within digital systems. Langfuse aims to tap into the lucrative market of Large Language Models (LLM), alongside big players like Amplitude and Datadog. With the increasing adoption of large language models by various companies, there's significant potential for growth in this area. The data observability sector is expanding rapidly, akin to the emergence of tools like Monte Carlo for data observability.

Industries: AI/ML

Stage: Seed

Funding: $4M Seed - Lightspeed Venture Partners, La Famiglia and Y Combinator.

What? - An AI browser extension that understands the context of whichever website you’re on. It gives real-time information and includes citations so you know where it comes from.

Why? - The purpose of Glimpse is to address the limitations of existing AI models like ChatGPT, which lack the ability to offer personalized responses based on the specific websites you've visited. By integrating seamlessly into your browsing experience, Glimpse aims to empower users with valuable information and enhance their understanding of online content.

Industries: AI/ML

Stage: Seed

Funding: N/A

Elsewhere

Figure AI: Pioneering the future of robotics

Figure AI, a cutting-edge startup, just scored a whopping $675 million from big shots like Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, Microsoft, and OpenAI. They're on a mission to shake up the game with their humanoid robot, Figure 01, tackling the undesirable and dangerous jobs nobody else wants to do.

Just last week, they dropped a video showcasing Figure 01 in action. The robot, tethered for now, gracefully walks on two legs, deftly grips a plastic crate with its five-fingered hands, and effortlessly places it on a conveyor belt.

Founded in 2022, Figure AI aims to revolutionize the workforce by introducing autonomous humanoid robots capable of executing everyday tasks. Their strategy involves advancing AI systems to enable greater autonomy and productivity. Figure AI is competing in a rapidly growing market alongside companies like Agility Robotics, Tesla, and Boston Dynamics, with analysts projecting the humanoid robot market to reach $38 billion by 2035.

Central to Figure AI's master plan is the development of hardware that emulates human physical capabilities, emphasizing factors like range of motion and payload capacity. Beyond technological advancements, the company seeks to transform various industries and societal settings, indicating a broad impact on the future of work and human-robot interactions. Read more...

Bitcoin ETFs surge, BlackRock leads the charge

Bitcoin ETFs are a massive hit, fueling the frenzy that's catapulting the cryptocurrency's price to record highs. Since their debut on January 11th, investors are rushing into these funds like never before, pushing total assets in the 10 U.S. spot bitcoin funds to nearly $50 billion.

BlackRock's ETF surged past $10 billion in assets, setting a record as the fastest to hit that mark. Fidelity's offering, now with over $6 billion, is the third-largest ETF in their lineup, driving most of their ETF inflows this year.

BlackRock's ETF is soaring high, joining the elite club with only about 4% of U.S. ETFs having over $10 billion in assets. And the fees? BlackRock charges 0.25% after a promo period, while other managers charge even less.

Meanwhile, Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust, with almost $30 billion in existing assets, made a quick pivot into an ETF when others launched. But with a hefty 1.5% annual fee, investors have withdrawn over $8 billion, flocking towards lower-cost alternatives.

TLDR: Haiku (smallest) — light and fast, Sonnet (mid-size) — hard-working, and Opus (largest and most capable) — powerful.

Opus targets advanced intelligence for in-depth processing, while Haiku is suitable for applications prioritizing speed and cost-effectiveness over absolute performance. Sonnet balances speed with efficiency for scalable tasks (enterprise workloads). Opus and Sonnet are currently available via API, with Haiku soon to follow.

Furthermore, Opus leads the pack in benchmark tests, surpassing rivals like GPT-4 and Gemini Ultra in GSM-8k and MMLU benchmarks, showcasing superior mathematical reasoning and expert knowledge capabilities.

All three models support text and image inputs, essential for parsing complex, unstructured data across various formats.

The Claude 3 family initially offers a 200K context window, but all models are capable of processing inputs exceeding 1 million tokens. In contrast, Gemini 1.5 has a context window of 1 million tokens.

Not saying to ditch ChatGPT, but maybe it's time to reconsider its vibe soon based on recent experiences.

Venture Deals

  • Alumis, a South San Francisco-brd biopharmaceutical company developing oral therapies designed to treat immune-mediated diseases, raised $259 million in Series C funding. Foresite Capital, Samsara BioCapital, and venBio Partners led the round and were joined by Cormorant Asset Management, SR One, Lilly Asia Ventures, Nextech, Ally Bridge Group, and others. 

  • Zama, a Paris, France-brd open source cryptography company developing blockchain and AI privacy solutions, raised $73 million in Series A funding. Multicoin Capital and ProtocolVentures led the round and were joined by Metaplanet, Blockchange Ventures, VSquared, and Stake Capital.

  • Todyl, a Denver, Colo.-brd security and networking company, raised $50 million in Series B funding. undefined10 Partners led the round and was joined by Anthos Capital, Tech Operators, and StoneMill Ventures.

  • Remofirst, a remote-brd human resources and employee management platform, raised $25 million in Series A funding. Octopus Ventures led the round and was joined by QED, Mouro Capital, and Counterpart Ventures.

  • Hunch, a Dubai-brd social app social polling platform, raised $23 million in Series A funding from AlphaWave, Hashed, and others.

  • Argyle, a New York City-brd provider of direct-source income and employment data, raised $20 million in funding. Rockefeller Asset Management led the round and was joined by Bain Capital Ventures, SignalFire, and Checkr.

  • Tava Health, a Salt Lake City, Utah-brd provider of electronic medical record and practice management software to therapists, raised $20 million in Series B funding. CatalystInvestors led the round and was joined by Peterson Partners, Toba Capital, SpringTide, and Blue Heron Capital.

  • Fluent, a London, U.K.-brd data analytics platform, raised $7.5 million in seed funding from Hoxton Ventures and Tiferes Ventures.

  • Nextron, a Sāo Paulo, Brazil-brd platform designed to connect residents and businesses with subscription-brd renewable energy, raised $5.3 million in Series A funding. Vox Capital and Copel Ventures led the round and were joined by others.

Funds

  • Prudence, a New York City-brd venture capital firm, raised $80 million for its third fund focused on tech companies real estate, prop tech/construction, and infrastructure spaces.

Who's Hiring

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Catch you next Thursday — Kenneth

P.S. Interested in sponsoring next week's issue? Shoot me an email.